Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BTTTT on the frequency band planning for 3560-4000 MHz for the public terrestrial mobile communication system (IMT) in Vietnam

CIRCULAR

Radio Frequency Band Plan 3560-4000 MHz for Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Systems
of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) in Vietnam

Pursuant to the Law on Radio Frequency dated November 23, 2009; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Radio Frequency dated November 9, 2022;

Pursuant to Decree No. 48/2022/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;
The Government shall stipulate the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

Pursuant to Decision No. 71/2013/QĐ-TTg dated November 21, 2013 of the Prime Minister promulgating the National Radio Frequency Spectrum Plan; Decision No. 38/2021/QĐ-TTg dated December 29, 2021 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decision No. 71/2013/QĐ-TTg dated November 21, 2013 of the Prime Minister promulgating the National Radio Frequency Spectrum Plan;
The Minister of Information and Communications issues this Circular on the Radio Frequency Band Plan 3560-4000 MHz for Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Systems of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) in Vietnam

 PURSUANT TO THE PROPOSAL OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE RADIO FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY;

This Circular plans the radio frequency band 3560-4000 MHz for deploying Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) Systems of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) [1] (hereinafter referred to as the IMT system) in Vietnam..

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

2. Applicability:

Article 1. The radio frequency band 3560-4000 MHz shall be used for deploying Public Land Mobile Network systems according to the IMT-2020 standard and subsequent versions.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals participating in managing and using radio frequencies; organizations and individuals producing, importing, and trading radio equipment for use in Vietnam.

Article 2. Content of Planning

The radio frequency band 3560-4000 MHz shall be divided as follows:

a) The radio frequency band 3600-3980 MHz shall be divided into four blocks of radio frequency bands using time-division duplex (TDD) technology [2] as follows:

Block C1 with a bandwidth of 100 MHz, from 3600 MHz to 3700 MHz;

Block C2 with a bandwidth of 100 MHz, from 3700 MHz to 3800 MHz;

Block C3 with a bandwidth of 100 MHz, from 3800 MHz to 3900 MHz;

Block C4 with a bandwidth of 80 MHz, from 3900 MHz to 3980 MHz;

b) The radio frequency bands 3560-3600 MHz and 3980-4000 MHz shall be used as protective bands;

c) Based on the ability to handle harmful interference to earth stations belonging to the fixed-satellite service operating in the 3400-3560 MHz band, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall decide the timing for putting Block C1 into use.

Article 2. The maximum total bandwidth that an organization may be licensed to use in the group of two radio frequency bands 2500-2600 MHz [3] and 3700-3980 MHz (before Block C1 is put into use) is 180 MHz, and in the group of two radio frequency bands 2500-2600 MHz and 3600-3980 MHz (after Block C1 is put into use) is 200 MHz.

Article 3. Conditions for Using the IMT System Operating in the 3600-3980 MHz Band

The IMT system operating in the 3600-3980 MHz band must meet the following conditions for use:

1. Condition to avoid harmful interference to earth stations belonging to the fixed-satellite service (hereinafter referred to as earth stations) listed in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular: the power flux density (PFD) of emissions from the IMT system must comply with the provisions set out in Section 1 of Appendix I attached to this Circular.

2. Condition to avoid harmful interference to earth stations with ranging, monitoring, and control functions for satellites (hereinafter referred to as TT&C stations) and earth stations operating in the Inmarsat Haiphong ground network (hereinafter referred to as HPLES stations) specified in Section 2 of Appendix I attached to this Circular:

a) Not to deploy base stations of the IMT system (hereinafter referred to as IMT base stations) using the 3600-3980 MHz band within a distance of 0 km to 05 km from the antenna location of the TT&C station or from the antenna location of the HPLES station, except in special cases where the management unit of the TT&C station (if within the TT&C station's area) or the HPLES station (if within the HPLES station's area) assesses that the use of IMT base stations is safe and will not cause harmful interference to the TT&C station or the HPLES station;

b) The power flux density (PFD) of emissions from the IMT system must comply with the provisions set out in Section 3 of Appendix I attached to this Circular.

3. Condition to avoid harmful interference to radio altimeters: the IMT base station must have equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) and spurious emission power in the 4200-4400 MHz band meeting the provisions set out in Appendix II attached to this Circular.

b) The power flux density (PFD) of emissions from the IMT system must comply with the provisions set out in Section 3 of Appendix I attached hereto.

3. Conditions to avoid harmful interference to radio altimeters: the IMT base station must have equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) levels and emission power in the 4200-4400 MHz band that comply with the provisions set out in Appendix II attached hereto.

Article 4. Conditions for the use of earth stations earth station  

1. Organizations and individuals using earth stations operating in the frequency band of 3560-4000 MHz must switch their operating frequencies out of this band before April 1, 2024, except for the earth stations specified in Section 2 of Appendix I attached to this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals using earth stations operating in the frequency bands of 3400-3560 MHz and 4000-4200 MHz shall be responsible for installing filters that meet a minimum attenuation level of 60 dB for signals received in the frequency band of 3600-3980 MHz.

3. The list of earth stations licensed to use radio frequencies in the frequency bands of 3400-3560 MHz and 4000-4200 MHz will be updated and sent to organizations using the IMT system operating in the frequency band of 3600-3980 MHz by the Radio Frequency Management Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 5. Responsibilities for coordinating interference mitigation between the IMT system and other systems

Organizations using the IMT system operating in the frequency band of 3600-3980 MHz and organizations and individuals using earth stations listed in Clause 3 of Article 4 of this Circular and the earth stations specified in Section 2 of Appendix I attached to this Circular shall cooperate with each other to meet the conditions for avoiding harmful interference according to the corresponding provisions in Clause 1 and 2 of Article 3 of this Circular.

Article 6. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from January 7, 2024.

2. The Director of the Office, the Director of the Radio Frequency Management Department, the Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry of Information and Communications, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

3. In cases where, after this Circular takes effect, the National Radio Frequency Spectrum Plan changes the regulations on the use of radio frequencies applicable to earth stations (including TT&C earth stations and HPLES earth stations) operating in the frequency band of 3400-4200 MHz, such changes shall be implemented according to the provisions of the National Radio Frequency Spectrum Plan.

4. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles in coordinating the handling of harmful interference, relevant organizations and individuals shall report to the Radio Frequency Management Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications to obtain guidance on implementing necessary technical solutions to handle harmful interference.